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Media Release

CPR Classes: An Easy Lifesaver

posted on: 08/27/2013

If someone stopped breathing, would you know what to do before professional help arrives? According to Deb Creque, CPR, ACLS, and PALS Manager of the CPR Rescue Training Center at ProMedica, everyone should be prepared to step in with life-saving techniques.

“The life you save with CPR is most likely going to be someone you love,” she said. The American Heart Association estimates 88 percent of cardiac arrests happen at home, and with 70 percent of Americans unable to perform CPR or unsure of their ability to act, the odds begin to stack up against survival. Creque said most people who experience cardiac arrest at home, work or a public place often die because they don’t receive immediate CPR from someone on the scene.

Despite the worrying statistics, some simple steps and the right training can make a difference.

“As a bystander, don't be afraid. Your actions can only help,” said Creque. “If you see a teen or an adult suddenly collapse, call 911 and push hard and fast in the center of the chest to the beat of the classic disco song ‘Stayin' Alive.’ CPR can more than double a person's chances of survival, and ‘Stayin' Alive’ has the right beat for Hands-Only CPR.”

In addition to CPR training, the CPR Rescue Training Center also offers classes on how to use Automated External Defibrillator (AED) devices. AEDs are used in addition to CPR in emergency situations to improve a person’s chance at survival and normal recovery. While CPR provides some circulation of oxygen rich blood to the victim's heart and brain, which delays both brain death and the death of heart muscle, it also makes the heart more likely to respond to defibrillation from the AED.

The AED first works to analyze the heart for shockable heart rhythms. Next, it tells the rescuer whether someone needs defibrillation, and then delivers a shock if needed. When a person suffers a sudden cardiac arrest, their chance of survival decreases by 7 to 10 percent for each minute that passes without defibrillation, which makes using this device a critical part of anyone’s lifesaving training.